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The Expanse

On Ilus / New Terra, the human colonists are locked into a vicious cycle of violence and revenge. With no back-up, there’s little Jim Holden can do to calm things down – and every sign that both sides are more interested in first strikes than striking deals. Worse, as the scientists discover more about the planet, it’s looking less and less like a safe place to be…

The Gates are open. Humanity is expanding beyond our solar system… but with corporations claiming entire planets and independent settlers taking up arms to defend their claims, our proudest, most exciting moment appears to be just another opportunity to revel in our worst nature. Will we inherit the stars? Or is there a threat out there terrible enough to unite us?

While Bull and his new allies go toe to toe with Ashton’s well-armed forces, Anna tries to persuade the fleet to switch off all their power to persuade the station they’re no longer a threat. With Ashford intent on destroying the gate itself – which might cause the station to wipe out the entire solar system – there’s a lot worth fighting for. Or dying for. Will there be a home to try to get back to?

Everybody wants to get their hands on Jim Holden – but Mars got to him first. As Baca tries to persuade the survivors to join him aboard the Behemoth, the Martians refuse to hand over their prisoner – and Captain Ashford becomes increasingly volatile. Meanwhile, Anna shows Melba just what a priest can do when she puts her mind to it…

Every political power has a fleet at the Ring – and they’re all painting the Rocinante with their targeting lasers as Melba’s gambit pays off. So if you were Jim Holden, hanging in front of a mysterious alien gate with no control over your gunship’s guns or comms, what would you do? WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Drunk synopses are honest synopses: Book 3 picks up in the outer solar system, with Mr Corey testing our ability not to snigger like teenagers as the protomolecule creates an enormous ring just outside the orbit of Uranus.

Grown up. Honestly. There’s a bevy of new characters in book 3, and – as usual – this first week is all set up as we slowly build up to the rollercoaster. Also, Holden sees dead people.

Crunch time: can Avasarala, Bobbie and the crew of Rocinante survive – let alone stop a war and rescue Prax’s daughter – or have they finally been out-gunned? We’re at the point where everything is hard to put down and – and book 2 ends on a cliffhanger (that last line) so I’ll be barrelling right through to Abaddon’s Gate.

Tensions boil over as Avasarala finds herself bundled off to Ganymede on a luxurious space yacht and Jim confronts Fred about the protomolecule. As alliances finally become clear, it’s starting to be obvious who their friends really are – but can even friends be trusted?

As Holden and his crew search Ganymede to try and find Prax’s lost daughter, the negotiations on Earth stop abruptly. Although Avasarala is tempted to figure out who is pulling the strings – and why – she knows someone needs to keep an eye on Venus. She’s not wrong…

It’s been 18 months since the Phoebe incident, and the system has settled into an uneasy stand-off as Earth and Mars marshal their forces and try to avoid a shooting war. Holden and his crew are officially working for Fred and the OPA – and when something terrible happens on Ganymede, they’re the obvious choice to investigate…

Just when you think it’s all over, the post-human horror goes full planetbuster and shows the squabbling politicians what escalation really looks like. Pretty much nothing went as I expected in the final act of Leviathan Wakes, guaranteeing I’ll be back for more…

We ended on a cliffhanger last week, with Holden and Miller in a tight spot after a series of traumatic experiences. The action picks straight back up – and remarkably, races right up to what feels like a climax. But the story isn’t done yet. There’s still a week to go. My word there’s a lot packed into this one… So let’s talk about it.